What to do in May

Ah, May…caught somewhere between Easter and the peak tourist season. Warmer and drier than April, but not as hot as the summer.

In other words, a decent time to visit Vienna. Particularly if you enjoy your music, food and drink, for May is a month full of classical and culinary festivals.

• Book a classical concert experience* for your trip
• See also:
  • This week’s event tips
  • April & June
  • Find May accommodation

Top activities in May 2026

So, aside from the usual museums, tours, concerts and other sights, what does the month offer the discerning visitor to Vienna?

Well, we have the mammoth Eurovision Song Contest (see below), but otherwise…

My quick tip

With the shift from spring to summer in May, consider taking in an appropriate soundtrack in the form of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

Members of the Orchestra 1756 perform the piece regularly in the baroque Karlskirche church, and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

Eurovision

(The pedestian lights installed in 2015 in honour of the previous time Vienna hosted the event)

The big event this month (and possibly this year) is the Eurovision Song Contest, which Vienna hosts in the Stadthalle venue. The final is on May 16th, with the semi-finals on May 12th and 14th.

Check my Eurovision page for the latest news, info, and visitor tips as plans unfold for the event.

Exhibitions in May

(Lower Belvedere normally has top art exhibitions)

Highlights

• Enjoy the gorgeous 19th-century landscapes painted by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller and such international greats as Constable over at Lower Belvedere, along with a solo exhibition for Anni Albers

• Talking landscapes, the big spring exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum centers around works by Canaletto and Bellotto

• The Albertina has solo exhibitions for Helga Philipp and Richard Prince, as well as artistic takes and positions from the 1970s onwards on care work (a SAMMLUNG VERBUND exhibition). And catch the final days of the exhibition for the French 19th-century caricaturist Honoré Daumier (until May 25th).

• Staying with 19th-century France, the Leopold Museum has an exhibition of works by Gustave Courbet. The museum also has a special exhibition featuring modern and contemporary works from the collection of the Austrian National Bank

• The Albertina Modern presents top US artist KAWS in dialogue with various other contemporary artists, as well as an exhibition of dance photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s

• Discover the innovative genius of Helmut Lang at the MAK (until May 3rd)

• Talking genius, dive into the life of Egon Schiele in an exhibition at the Wien Museum that draws on the art, memorabilia, and more in the Peschka estate. The museum also explores the huge Donauinsel recreational island on the Danube that actually serves as a flood protection measure

• Upper Belvedere begins its in-depth look at a painting each by Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder and Younger (from May 13th)

• The Animalia exhibition at the Heidi Horten Collection reveals artistic takes on the relationship between people and animals

• For a comprehensive overview of contemporary art in Vienna, enjoy the big Lebt und arbeitet in Wien exhibition at the Kunsthalle Wien

• Last chance to see the mid-career retrospective for Leopold Kessler at musa (until May 17th)

• Take a dive into the world of recycling, repurposing and other words beginning with RE over at the Technisches Museum, who also look at the impact of 200 years of railways (with lots of models to admire)

• The Jewish Museum explores the concept of forgetting and its sociocultural implications. The museum also presents (from May 20th) paintings by Eran Shakine

For more detailed exhibition listings at the major venues, see my curated overview.

More art(s)…

• The Art Austria art fair enlivens Palais Auersperg with national and international works (May 7th to 10th)

• For art in its broadest sense, the huge Wiener Festwochen multidisciplinary art festival starts this month (May 15th to June 21st) with its wide-ranging programme

• The Klima Biennale takes place in the context of climate change but is strongly focused on contemporary art perspectives (April 9th to May 10th)

• The Affordable Art Fair arrived in Vienna for the first time in 2025 over at the Marx Halle and is due back in 2026 (May 28th to 31st)

See also some of the fairs listed below…

Fairs & fandoms

(Visit Vienna COMIX in the Marx Halle)

A few tips for those with a hankering for creativity you can buy:

• Vienna COMIX (May 30th to 31st) is a fair and convention covering comics in their widest sense with, for example, cosplay and plenty of Star Wars, too

• The WAMP design market showcases the delights produced by numerous independent artists and designers (2026 dates TBA)

• The open-air FRÜHLINGSQUARTIER market promises design, art, music and culinary treats (May 15th to 17th)

(The Cream Vienna market visited the REAKTOR Wien last year)

• Think of the annual Stefflkirtag fair outside the main cathedral as a spring market with the touch of a funfair about it (May 14th to 25th)

• Fanzineist Vienna: an international fair that presents self-published and independent publications in creative fields like art, design and literature (May 22nd to 24th)

• Animarket is a pop culture market with a strong focus on anime and manga (usually May 1st)

Bring a glass & plate

(The national drink)

Not all the slopes in Austria are for skiing down. The country has a lot of vineyards, for example (as does Vienna itself).

Last time I checked the statistics, Austrians also drink more beer per head than anybody except our thirsty Czech neighbours.

Vienna’s bars and restaurants allow you to taste the local beverages, or you can visit these festivals in May:

• If the idea of wine sounds tempting, then consider the VieVinum, an international wine festival at the Hofburg palace (May 16th to 18th)

• The four-day open-air Vienna Beer Festival (2026 dates TBA) brings brewers big and small together in the very centre of Vienna

A fine glass of wine or beer goes better with a fine dish of regional food. And, as luck would have it, Vienna has plenty of wider food festivals in May, too.

(That famous central European dark bread)

• The huge Genuss Festival in the Stadtpark city park (May 8th to 10th) showcases high-quality food & drink from Austria’s agricultural and viticultural regions

• The 3-day Waldviertelpur festival (next dates TBA, probably 2027) features the best of the Waldviertel region (a rural area northwest of Vienna). This includes their rather hearty cuisine, particularly a myriad different things you can do with poppy seeds

• Burgenland is a small province east of Vienna, and the Burgenland Kultinarium festival (2026 dates TBA) encourages you to learn about the area with the help of large quantities of its gastronomic output

• The Wiener Zitrustage or Vienna Citrus Days (May 22nd to 25th) add a little fizz and colour to the month in the rather apt location of the Schönbrunn Palace orangery

If you want to run off the accumulated calories, try the ASICS Austrian Women’s Run (May 31st).

Another running event held this month is the Wings for Life World Run, with a flagship event in Vienna (May 10th).

Enjoy the music & celebrations

(The Steffl Kirtag at the cathedral)

The 2025 May festivals don’t end there, either.

• The big Pride event begins this month (May 29th to June 14th), though the highlight parade is in June

• Numerous Christian institutions open their doors to visitors at the Long Night of the Churches (May 29th) with an evening of events ranging from organ recitals to rooftop tours

• The Vienna Blues Spring festival continues across the whole of May in 2026

• The wean hean festival has a series of performances reflecting the Viennese song tradition (April 21st to May 12th). Outside of those dates, catch a taste of the music at the Remassuri show

(Heldenplatz – home to the Fest der Freude open-air concert)

• The Gemischter Satz festival at the Konzerthaus venue combines one of Vienna’s notable wine products with classical music and more (May 21st to 23rd)

• The Fest der Freude (May 8th) celebrates the liberation of Vienna and the end of Nazi rule with a free concert on Heldenplatz square next to the Hofburg palace. The Vienna Symphony orchestra performs, with the event also in remembrance of those who suffered at the hands of that occupation

• The Südwind Straßenfest (May 30th and 31st) celebrates the work of NGOs, with food stands, a fair-trade market, and the chance to learn about the work done by dozens of charities

Buy some popcorn

(A regular film festival host)

International film festivals fill Viennese screens during May. For example:

• The prestigious Vienna Shorts festival with its focus on short-form filmmaking (May 26th to 31st)

• The Ethnocineca international documentary film festival, which focuses on critical evaluation of social, political and cultural structures (2026 dates TBA)

• The mini version of the Slash Film Festival featuring all things fantastical (2026 dates TBA)

• 2025 saw the inaugural edition of the Wiener Arbeitsfilmfestival (2026 dates TBA), which tackles the world of work in film form

4GAMECHANGERS

(The 4GAMECHANGERS stage; press photo courtesy of and © 4GAMECHANGERS & Pakugraphy)

Another large festival is 4GAMECHANGERS (next dates TBA, possibly shifting to later after a creative break), which brings together thousands of people from around the world who are interested in taking us into a better future (and many who are actively doing so).

At the previous event, each day was a separate track, with talks, panels and other activities around a wide diversity of relevant topics: from entrepreneurship to education, culture to climate change, health to human rights.

Languages were English and German (with simultaneous translation of any German talks into English).

The event has always had plenty of star power (and not just in the surrounding entertainment). Charlize Theron and Amal Clooney both appeared recently, for example.

Go for a swim

Vienna’s numerous outdoor public swimming facilities open up for the summer in May. These include:

• Family facilities, with shallow pools and family-friendly prices
• Multipurpose facilities, with both indoor and outdoor pools
• Summer facilities with open-air pools. Look, particularly, for the large recreational areas along the Alte Donau lake, such as the Gänsehäufel

Seasonal tip

Enjoy the flowers

(Enjoy the roses)

By early May, the spring and early summer flower displays planted by the city or national parks authorities are normally in full bloom. Try, for example:

• Schönbrunn Palace: the landscaped gardens in front of the palace are gorgeous. But also take the time to drop into the Kronprinzengarten, a privy garden with geometric shapes made of flower beds and different-coloured gravel

• The Rathauspark: the park surrounding the Rathausplatz square in the centre is usually full of tulips

• The gardens between the two baroque palaces at Belvedere should have a flower or three by now

• The Volksgarten: a public gardens opposite the Rathausplatz and home to hundreds of different rose varieties

• Hirschstetten: a large (and beautiful) landscaped municipal gardens and park area with various thematic zones and animals, too